Finally brewday. Reworked recipe!

Yesterday I finally brewed what should have been "Franks Strong Candidate II" but ended up totally different.
For starters, I couldn't get dates. I searched every grocery store nearby without any luck at all. Next I couldn't get whole coriander so I ended up buying ground coriander. Anyway, you gotta brew with what you have, so I changed the recipe a bit.

Brew Like a Monk

I decided to leave out the Belgian Candi syrup totally. I haven't got any of the complexity from the product that many sources, such as BLAM, promise. I don't regard the syrup as being the key ingredient in making dark belgian ales - at least not the syrup I can get, which is from Brewferm.
Then, I know for a fact, that you can brew wonderfully complex beers without. Take for instance Abbaye Des Rocs Brune, which is rated 100% at Ratebeer.com. It is brewed without any sugar additions at all and it is verrrrry good!

Another change to my recipe was the mash temp. I wanted some sweetness in the beer for two reasons.

1. To get the typical "belgian sweetness" in the beer. I mashed at 68C (154F) for an hour. It's very high but I thought I'd give it a try. This also goes against the BLAM advice, to mash low. But hey, as Stan Hieronymus says: You must brew like yourself!
2. I have noticed that some of the beers with more sweetness cellar better. They tend to develop more complexity.

Last change, or, more accurately, decision, was to stay with the anis. I think there's a big difference in throwing a lot of interesting ingredients in the beer and making a complex beer. I was afraid to get a "muddy" impression if I threw too many ingredients in, but since I couldn't get dates I figured it was OK - and MAN the anis smells good!

Here's the recipe I brewed yesterday.

Name: Brew no 31: Franks Brown #6	Style: Belgian Dark Strong Ale
Statistics
Volume:	24 liters
OG:	1082
FG:	1015
Alcohol:	8.7 % by vol.
Colour:	42 EBC (Dark brown)
Bitterness:	36 IBU
BU/GU:	0.44

Fermentables
Pilsner Malt 3 EBC	6000	gr.
Cara-Hell 25 EBC	375	gr.
Cara Amber 70 EBC	367	gr.
Cara Munich 120 EBC	256	gr.
Special B 350 EBC	250	gr.
Chocolate Malt 800 EBC	50	gr.
Dark Moscovado Sugar 80 EBC	500	gr.
Brown Sugar 80 EBC	300	gr.

 Mash schedule: 68C for 1 hour in the oven

Hops
Saaz	3.5%	alpha	100	gr.	60	minutes
Hallertauer	3.0%	alpha	50	gr.	10	minutes

Fermentation
Yeast: Safbrew T-58
Fermented at 23-28 degrees C for 10 days.
Fermented at 15 degrees C for 6 days.
Lagered at 12 degrees C for 120 days.

Comments:

Boil for 1 hours. Add 1 tsp ground coriander and 1 tsp anis to the boil for the last 10 minutes.



It's now bubbeling away in the basement....

Beer Tasting : Aged Hercule Stout

Hercule Stout

In my private stash, I have this aged Hercule Stout from Brasserie Ellezelloise. It expired January, 2008 which means it's 2 years and almost 8 months past it's best before date.
It will be interesting to find out, if this beverage is improving with age or it should be drunk fresh. I have had this young several times and I like it very much. It's not my favourite but it's a nice enjoyable sipper. Not like many other belgians, this has a distinct taste from roasted black malts. But then again, it's a stout, and there are not that many belgian stouts around....

I brought out my Chimay goblet and opened the swingtop lid with only a faint hiss.
Here goes:

Aged Hercule Stout in Chimay Glass

Aroma (5/10)
Lots of tar, smoke and cold strong coffee. A bit of caramel sweets and burnt banana peel too. No hops. Pleasant, but I had expected more.

Appearance (4/5)
Pitch black, a small rim of beige foam bubbles along the sides of the glass is what this beer has for foam. Totally clear.

Taste (5/10)
Smoked taste of black malts and a little salty. Very intense with just enough sweetness to balance the roastiness. No bitterness or hop taste. Not so much to say really. It's become a bit simple or one-dimensional over time.

Palate (2/5)
The body is very full with an oily texture. Over te years the carbonation has almost disappeared. It's not completely gone, but it's very faint. I miss some carbonation because it could balance the heavy taste and give it some lightness. Overall a short finish except for the smokiness which leaves a long impression. A bit astrigent finish.

Overall (10/20)
This is an aged beer and I like aged beers very much. I have to conclude that this beer does not improve with age though, because as a young beer I would have scored it much higher. It's more an experience than it's an enjoyment to drink this beer I would say. And even though it's quite average overall, I am very happy to have tried the aged version.

Total score 2.6 of 5

My Top 10 Belgian Quadrupels

Who don't like a good strong dark abbey style ale. Well, I do, and here's my list to make the cold winter nights a little warmer.

1. Rochefort 10
In my opinion this is the best of them all. It's lovely smell of figs, dark ripe fruit and sweet chocolate can be picked up from a long distance. Very dark brown colour, nice big head, and lots of carbonation. Taste is very complex, sweet, figs, fruits, dark malts, vanilla. If you haven't tried it, it's very difficult to describe. The aftertaste is one of the longest I've ever had from a beer. You must concentrate to taste hops and bitterness in this beer, it's faint. The funny thing is - it's still balanced perfectly. And beware, it hit's you with 11.3% alcohol.

2. Westvleteren 12
Many thinks this is the best beer in the world. While it certainly is a great beer, I won't say it's the best in the world. I think it's history and rareness may add to the reason why many rate it the best. I am lucky to have easy access to all Westvleteren beers and have tasted a good share of them so the history and rereness factor does not affect my rating.
That said, the Westvleteren beer is fantastic. It's smell and taste is very complex, with pronounced caramel/toffee characters. Don't drink a normal beer just after this one - it will taste dull!

3. Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van de Keizer
Great and complex beer. I have tasted this one fresh as well as one, two, and eight years (the 2002 vintage)old. They're all very enjoyable and round tasting. This one has a certain spicyness to go along with the dark malts and toffee flavours. Very good.

4. Abbaye des Rocs Brune
This is an all-malt belgian beer, which is a little bit unusual, since many belgian brewers tend to add a fairly large amount of syrups/sugars for the reasons of complexity and/or drinkability of the final beer. This one does not have any sugars added, but instead 7 different malts to get an amazingly complex taste. This is a beer you must try.

5. Struise Pannepot
This dark ale begins it's fermentation in open tanks with their house yeast T-58. It's rich, complex, malty and spicy.

6. Floreffe prima meilleure
Wonderful dark ale with an added dose of anis and coriander. Normally there's a rule of thumb saying that if you can spot the spice used in a beer, then you have used too much. Well, in this case, you can easily smell and taste the anis! And that's how this beer should be! The anis goes wery well along with the dary malts and syrups.

7. N'ice Chouffe
I know it's a christmas beer, but this soft dark strong ale can be consumed all year round. I't spiced with coriander, thyme and orange peel which melts together with a nice complex malty taste with a hint of chocolate.

8. St. Bernardus abt 12
The St. Bernardus brewery brewed Westvleteren beers under license from 1946 to 1992. It is sayd, that when the license ended, they continued to brew the Westvleteren 12 beer under the name of St. Bernardus Abt 12. Although there are many similarities between St. Bernardus abt 12 and Westvleteren 12, it's far from the same beer. Still very good though.

9. Malheur 12
This potent 12% Abv is just great. Great caramel and toffee notes and mild hopping makes this strong beer easy to sip.

10. Oerbier
Toffee, Caramel and a nutty undertone. Pleasant.

Drink responsibly!

Units of alcohol

How many units of alcohol are you consuming? This formula assumes one unit of alcohol equals 12 grams of pure alcohol.

It's actually quite easy to calculate using this formula

[amount in cl.] * [Alcohol percentage] / 150

Some examples

A glass (33cl) of beer (5% alcohol) equals (33*5/150) 1.1 units of alcohol
A shot (2cl) of vodka (45% alcohol) equals (2*45/150) 0,6 units of alcohol
A 66cl barleywine of 11% equals (66*11/150) 4,8 units of alcohol

Simple as that.. and remember... drink responsibly!

Homebrew tasting : Fresh "Strong Birthday Blonde"

Tasting homebrew #29 : Strong Birthday Blonde

I've been having a period of brews with an "off" flovour that I don't want. I have sanatised all equipment thoroughly before brewing the "Strong Birthday Blonde" - a belgian blonde of the strong kind. So naturally, I'm very curious to taste this beer that I brewed June 19th, 2010 (the recipe will follow in another post).

I poured this one into my Delirium Tremens tulip shaped glass. 

Here's my tasting notes

Closeup - It's looking great, but...

Aroma (5/10)

Citrussy, tart, malt, spicy. Danm! Something's wrong here....

Appearance (4/5)

Clear and bright, sparkling, nice foam

Taste (4/10)

Complex malts makes sweet, light caramel notes along with an orange taste. There's a little stalenes, horse and hay in the background. Alcohol is present but does not dominate at all. Sweet/bitternes balance good. Little sour lambic qualities. Infection?

Palate (3/5)

Medium body, creamy. Medium carbonation. Fairly long aftertaste aftertaste with bitter orange finish.

Overall (5/20)

Not satisfied. I am disappointed with the smell and taste of the beer. I don't know if it's an infection that causes the slight "stale" or "horseblanket" taste and smell. It's like it's not fresh and crisp.

I wouldn't have another!

Overall score 2.1 out of 5

......I will make another tasting in 3 months. I hope the funny taste will fade during cellaring.

I think I have found the reason for the funny taste, which I'm sure is from a mild infection of some kind. It's the plastic tap, on the bottom of the fermenter. It's a pain to clean since it cannot be disassembled. It's now soaking in a mild bleach solution which should take away any gunk, after a couple of days I will work the tap handle back and forth and let it soak again until all areas of the inside cylinder has been in contact with the solution! After this, rinse thoroughly under hot water, then boiling water. That hopefully should kill all nasties.

I really hope this is the end of the funny taste........

Homebrew : Thoughts on Brewferm Dark Candi Syrup

Belgian Candi Syrup
I am having some thoughts about belgian candi syrup. It is said that this syrup "Adds an inimitable flavour to your beer". In fact, it should be the one key ingredient, for brewing up an authentic belgian dark strong ale.

Brewferm Syrup

As a homebrewer with a preference for belgian dark strongs, this sounds like something I NEED. So, I bought 5 liters of Brewferm's Dark Candi Syrup - or Kandijstroop as it is called in Dutch. There's no doubt about it - it tastes GREAT, but the flavours it leaves in the beer are minimal. I mean, it's a nice product, but I expected something like a little miracle from this liquid stuff. Also considering the price - in the end, it's "just" sugar!

After having used it in several beers, in amounts from 5%-20%, I simply cannot believe the hype about this syrup. This syrup does not add any rummy, dark ripe fruit, date, raisin etc., flavour to the beer. When used in 20% of the maltbill, it leaves a "dusty", "thin" cherry/chocolate/plum fingerprint. Very faint though.

I still can get more complexity from the malts than from the syrup. I have also used my own caramelized table sugar and gotten better results.

Is it the syrup?
Is it the syrup or is it me who do not have the skills to brew with it? Maybe it is the specific syrup from Brewferm. I haven't tried the syrups from dark candi, inc. and Candico (the one Struise uses) since I cannot get them from where I live. Could be interesting to brew a batch of belgian dark strong with another syrup.

Dark Candi Inc. Syrup

Candico Syrup

Although I expect to use the syrup in my next brew, it will not be the primary contributor to the taste. That's for sure!






Happy brewing!

Homebrew : Planning the next homebrew project

I just recieved a package from my homebrew store. Malt, yeast and hops for my next homebrew. I'm still not quite sure how it will be designed, but one thing is for sure : it will be a dark strong Belgian inspired ale inspired from previous brewing.

Brew Like a Monk

I have bought the T-58 yeast. It's not a typical belgian yeast, according to Brew Like a Monk, but I know it can be used with success since Struise uses it as their house yeast and their beers are very good. T'smsije also brews with this yeast, and they're not bad either. I have used the T-58 yeast with good success on both light and dark coloured beers.

I have used my "Strong CandiDate" recipe as a basis for this. I have named the beer this way since it's brewed with Candi-syrup and dates. I have decided to spice it with coriander and a little bit of anis. I am not sure if 5grams of anis is too much. For sugars, I add the dark moscovado sugar along with Candi Syrup. I want this to have liquorice/anis notes together with toffee notes.

Here's what I have come up with so far.

Name: Franks Dark Candi-Date II	Style: Belgian Dark Strong Ale
Statistics
Volume:	22 liters
OG:	1084
FG:	1011
Alcohol:	9.6 % by vol.
Colour:	48 EBC (Dark brown)
Bitterness:	45 IBU
BU/GU:	0.53

Fermentables
Pilsner Malt 3 EBC	5500	gr.
Cara Munich 100 EBC	250	gr.
Cara Amber 60 EBC	250	gr.
Special B 230 EBC	250	gr.
Chocolate Malt 800 EBC	50	gr.
Unmalted Wheat 3 EBC	250	gr.
Dark Moscovado Sugar 80 EBC	500	gr.
Dark Candi Syrup (Brewferm)	500	gr.

 Mash schedule: 65C for 1½ hrs in the oven

Hops
Saaz	3.5%	alpha	75	gr.	60	minutes
Perle	6.4%	alpha	50	gr.	60	minutes

Fermentation
Yeast: Safbrew T-58
Fermented at 23-28 degrees C for 10 days.
Fermented at 15 degrees C for 6 days.
Lagered at 12 degrees C for 120 days.

Comments:
Mash with 250gr. dates
Boil for 1½ hours. Add 15 gr. ground coriander and 5 gr. ground anis to the boil for the last 10 minutes.
Sugar and syrup added on day 3 of the fermentation.

Beer tasting : Blue Mountain Stout - Gourmet Bryggeriet

I bought this coffee stout from Gourmet Bryggeriet some time ago - it was on sale :-). It was so cheap, that I could not leave it on the shelf. It has now been sitting in my basement some time, and now it's time to taste it.
It says on the label, that it is brewed with the best coffee in the world - Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, and bitter chocolate (Belgian Callebaut 70%). I have always thought that Ca Pe Chon was the best coffee in the world, but who knows.... Anyway, what matters now is how this beer tastes.

The style is american stout and this one is 6.5% alcohol.

I poured it in my Maredsous glass which I think is the most suitable for a beer of this style. So, here goes

Blue Mountain Stout

Aroma (6/10)
sweet malts, milk chokolate, toffee, baileys, little banana. There's a little smell of tar, which suits the smell in a nice way. In the end there's a faint darker chokolate smell. Moderate spicyness from the hops.

Appearance (5/5)
Black, clear, large rock hard light brown head. Very good looking.

Taste (8/10)
balanced to the bitter side (this is not sweet), although it's not overly bitter. A bit salty/tar. Long aftertaste of tar, liquorice and coffee. Next sip is much more plaesant than the previous. It's like, the first sip was a bit thin. Then you get used to that and discover more flavours. Then the next, you discover more, and so on. Alcohol not present. Long aftertaste,

Palate (4/5)
Medium body, a bit thin. Low carbonation. Very soft and round although not silky - just round. Long finish.

Overall (14/20)
This is well brewed and you can continue to discover new flavours in this complex beer as you drink it. Gets better sip after sip.
Would I like another one? Yes!

Total score 3.7 of 5

Blue Mountain Stout great head

Cooking With Beer : Beer-marinated Chicken with Baked Vegetables

Saturday, August 8th, 2010
Yesterday I was in the kitchen to prepare the weekend dinner. I had bought two chickens and thought I would experiment a bit by using beer in my recipe. 

The beer I used in my recipe was Harboe Argangsbryg. It is not a beer that will satisfy a beer connoisseur for sure, but I went for something with sweet malts and low bitterness.
It turned out pretty good, so here's the recipe I ended up with

Ingredients

2 whole chicken 
1 Strong lager 
3 leeks
12 carrots
2 onions
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon butter
1 chicken bouillon cube
potatoes
8 whole white pepper seeds
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
1-2 tsp salt  
2 cups water
2-3 cups of milk

Rinse all vegetables well. 
Prepare the marinade in the morning, or the day before. To make the marinade do the following. Cut off approx 10 cm of the green leek tops and put them in a blender together with the onions and 4 peeled carrots, pepper, oregano, thyme, rosemary, salt and a cup of water. Blend until everything is mixed well. Don't make it into a puree, but the vegetable pieces must be quite small.
Add the beer to the marinade and pour over chickens (remove guts and keep for later). Put them in the fridge. If the chickens are not covered, turn them occasionally.


Preheat oven to 100 C.
3 hours before serving, prepare carrots and leeks by cutting them in 2cm pieces and put in a roasting pan. Rub the chickens dry and stuff them with as much vegetable stuffing from the marinade as possible and season with salt and pepper. Put them on top of the vegetables and put them in the oven.
After 2½ hours turn up the heat to 220C. Use the last ½ hour to allow the skin to darken and get crispy. Use grill if necessary. Rotate chickens so all sides are grilled.
For the gravy reduce the marinade to a third. Melt some butter in a sauce pan and roast the chicken guts. Throw in a couple of leek tops as well. Allow everything to get a good crust. Add milk and as much of the reduced marinade needed (taste continuously - it must not get bitter). When you begin to taste bitterness, stop. Add bouillon cube.
Boil for 30 minutes. Sieve and season. Thicken the sauce with a slurry of flour and milk. Cook for another couple of minutes.

Cook potatoes. Arrange and serve.


..and just a final note. Yes I know that bouillon cubes are not "gourmet". If you have Chicken-fund then use it instead. I would then replace the milk with a mixture of stock and cream.

Homebrew tasting : 3 Years Old Christmas Ale

Friday, August 6th, 2010

Today I cracked the last bottle of my 2007 christmas beer. Over time it has become better and better, so I'm quite exited to taste it today. Also because it's more than 3 years old. I can tell you, it has taken quite some patience to wait until today tasting it!
It's quiet in the house. Girlfriend is out, diner is preparing itself in the oven, the children are watching cartoons. I figured now is the perfect moment.

Homebrewed Christmas Ale.

When I cracked the cap I was happy to experience that this was not a gusher. Instead a pleasant smell hit my nose. I poured it in my Rochefort Goblet without any problems. The yeast sediment was easy to avoid. The temperature of the beer was 13C.

Aroma (6/10)
Light caramel, liquorice, banana. Very nice and pleasant malt profile. No hops

Appearance (4/5)
100% Clear. Dark brown with reddish hues. Very thin layer of off-white foam

Taste (6/10)
Light sugary sweetness and taste of dark malts, brown sugar, banana, toffee, caramel, liquorice. It's slightly oxidized, but it adds to the complexity. Very round malt taste. The alcohol is not present at all. No hop taste or bitterness.

Can't wait to taste!

Palate (4/5)
Medium body, creamy texture. Medium carbonation. Medium to long finish. No astrigent or bitter notes at all.

Overall (12/20)
This is a nice beer.
Pros: It's liquid candy. Sweet dark toffee, banana and liquorice.
Cons: Unbalanced - no hop bitterness to counter the sweetness.
Would I have another: yes

Final score 3.2 of 5

Closeup, a couple of minutes after pouring

Here's the recipe, if you want to try yourself :-)

#12 - Franks Dark T58 (Christmas beer)
Brewday: 01.08.2007
Style: Dubbel

Volume:	29 liters
OG:	1079
FG:	1022
Alcohol:	7.5 % by vol.
Colour:	43 EBC (Brown)
Bitterness:	32 IBU
BU/GU:	0.4

Fermentables
Pilsner Malt 3 EBC	5500	gr.
Cara Red 40 EBC	250	gr.
Cara Crystal 120 EBC	850	gr.
Special B 230 EBC	192	gr.
Chocolate Malt	42	gr.
Unmalted Wheat	100	gr.
Kandis (dark)	250	gr.
Dark Brown Sugar	1000	gr.

Mash schedule: 60 minutes at 61C, 60 minutes at 65C, 5 minutes at 77C

Hops
Styrian Golding	3.2%	alpha	58	gr.	60	minutes
Hersbrucker	3.5%	alpha	34	gr.	60	minutes
Fuggle	6.1%	alpha	23	gr.	60	minutes
Hersbrucker	9.5%	alpha	10	gr.	30	minutes

Fermentation
Yeast: Safbrew T-58
Fermented at 18-20 degrees C for 3 days.
Fermented at 25 degrees C for 2 days.
Lagered at 28 degrees C for 1 days. 

Spices
Added 5 minutes before end of boil
4 gr. crushed coriander
2 whole cloves
½ crushed star anis


A lot of things went wrong with this brew during brewday. My mash temps went wrong abd the yeast way not healthy (reused yeast).